The family you are born into determines the first environment you will interact with as you grow. That environment will shape how you view the world, ultimately affecting who you become and how you interact with others. Drug addictions negatively impact every aspect of your life, putting a strain on the family and loved ones. That is why family therapy is one of the treatments offered in our addiction therapy program here at Oceanfront Recovery. This post will highlight the several benefits of family therapy.
What Is Family Therapy?
Sometimes referred to as family counseling, family therapy is a treatment targeted at addressing issues that might be affecting the health and proper functioning of the family unit. Many of the problems you struggle with individually often seep into your relationships. Therapy offers you the help you need to handle those problems.
In family therapy, the family is the unit of the treatment and is viewed as a system. When the family thrives as a whole, individuals within the system also thrive. Individual issues that occur within the system will affect how it functions as a whole. During your recovery, family therapy will be used alongside other treatment options to rectify every aspect of your life that suffered from substance abuse.
While family therapy often involves parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, and even grandparents, it is not limited to blood relatives. The term family can also refer to anyone playing a long-term supportive role, meaning some of those involved in therapy may not be blood relations or even from the same household.
In What Cases Can Family Therapy Prove Helpful?
Besides being used in an addiction therapy program, family therapy could also help a family facing other strenuous periods. These difficult periods could include marital conflicts, child behavior issues, loss of a loved one, a family member’s prolonged illness, or even in-law interference.
What Are The Benefits Of Family Therapy?
Negative changes in a person’s behavior affect the whole family, and so do positive changes. As you focus on recovery, family therapy considers other family members. This allows healing to occur throughout the entire family.
When family members have a safe environment to address the issues affecting them, there is a better chance of them powering through. This more holistic approach taken to problem resolution is one of the reasons why there are several benefits of family therapy. These benefits are such as:
- Instilling enhanced communication which teaches members how to communicate their feelings better
- Teaching constructive ways of resolving issues and improving problem-solving
- Developing clear perspectives of each member’s role within the family leading to an understanding of family dynamics and healthy boundaries
- Instilling more profound empathy towards each other and the problems each member might be facing
- Helping navigate difficult emotions in a less volatile way, reducing conflict and implementing better ways to manage those emotions
Involving Family In Your Addiction Therapy Program at Oceanfront Recovery
How family functions could influence how drug addiction is formed, and this is why family therapy can prove beneficial. For instance, teens can sometimes turn to substances to cope with issues at home. Family therapy often employs techniques such as:
- EMDR therapy
- Sober living homes
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Rehab aftercare program
At Oceanfront Recovery, our treatment programs are tailor-made to the specific problems a client is trying to resolve. Our family therapy treatment is aimed at bringing the family together. This develops healthy family functioning and helps create a supportive environment for your recovery. Talk to Oceanfront Recovery at 877.296.7477 and start reaping the many benefits of family therapy today.